North Pole Weather 6/25/12

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that solstice has passed. It’s nice that it’s officially summer, but we’re already losing daylight. On the solstice we had 21 hours and 50 minutes; we’re already down to 21 hours 44 minutes, and the loss will accelerate from here on. I shouldn’t complain; we still have light all night.

The sun rose this morning at 3:01 and will set tomorrow morning at 12:45. It’s been

One of the bean rows, 6/24/12

hot lately, at least by Fairbanks standards, and the showers aren’t really bringing much rain. I was chased in yesterday by the heat and the mosquitoes without getting much done but the watering.

The garden loves it – at least when I remember to water! Once of the squash plants actually has its first female flower, and at the rate they’re growing, the beans may be ready for the first picking by the end of June. If so, it will be the earliest ever. The lettuce seed is germinating – just in time, as it won’t be more than a few more weeks until the squash has shaded out the lettuce I transplanted into the holes in the cement blocks that make up the raised beds.

The day lilies are starting to bloom.

Daylilies are starting to bloom, as are the domesticated roses, though the wild roses are almost through for the season. Quite a few of the transplanted annuals are blooming, though it will be a while before the Asiatic lilies and the Maltese cross show their flowers. The begonias are going strong, as usual. At least it’s supposed to cool off some today, though not rain.